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Stewardship 2017 Copy

October for us here at St. Andrew’s-Wesley is Stewardship month. It was such a blessing that on Sunday, October 1st, during our Morning Worship service, our new Executive Director, Diane Mitchell helped remind us what a socially giving and resource-rich church StAW is. Below is the transcript of her message with a moving story from a mother that attends our Parent and Tot mornings on Wednesdays:

OCTOBER 1ST, 2017

“Today kicks off our Stewardship Campaign – Gratitude and Giving – But it is not just me on the team behind the scenes we have had some very active and enthusiastic people – Adrienne Giffin, Bob Murray, Terresa Augustine, Scott Rehmus, Kathy Murphy, Diane Jones and Rev. Dan Chambers.

It has been 4 months since I joined the staff of STAW and the first thing I noticed is this place is buzzing.

Our church is open 7 days a week, close to 365 days a year, lots of days you can not find a room that is empty. Why are our programs important? Lets me read you a letter from one of our Parent and Tot participants:

I am a single mother of a 4-year-old girl. I suffered maternity blues during my pregnancy and postpartum depression after. I did not take my baby to any “baby programs”. Her speech was delayed. (I had to take her to a speech therapist when she was 2).

The very first “baby program” I took her was “Parent & Tot”. I saw a sign outside the church. I took my courage to go inside. Everyone was so warm and welcoming. I felt home. I am grateful for this program, especially on a rainy day. Vancouver has lots of rainy days, and mothers have nowhere to go. The program is at indoor, and the church offers coffee and tea. Great snack for kids. As a single mother of fixed income, the help from “Parent & Tot” is greatly appreciated. I like seeing Ms. Margaret at the door and Ms. Jen’s smile. I miss Ms. Evelyn at this moment, but she has a great story to tell and music. It is a warm, wonderful place for all mothers and caregivers to gather.

Thank you “Parent & Tot”. We keep coming every Wednesday and we hope the program continues more years to come.

Thank you, Love Mariko

We are excited that Mariko and Ayumi feel so comfortable in our church they now attend Eat, Play, Love occasional Sunday Morning services and Camp Spirit! We are so happy to have them as part of our family.

So what does all this activity cost us? The short answer is A LOT! Today with your bulletin you have received a snapshot of what it has cost us over the years to keep the church running, what the givings have been and where the income from the church comes from.

In the next month, we will be highlighting just a few of the programs we provide. We know all of our programs are important to our congregation and the community at large but it would take us a whole year to highlight them all. We are the Light in the Heart of the city!

We cannot do this without you, you are an important piece of the pie and we are grateful for whatever slice you can give. We are working to have our congregational givings reach 40% of the total income in 2018.

We are holding the thread of this church and its programs. The thread of our community, the thread of Gratitude and Giving. We will provide the Gratitude and be giving sheets (pledge forms) next week. Thank you for all you have given!”

Diane Mitchell
(Executive Director at St. Andrew’s-Wesley)

To ensure that everyone knows about St. Andrew’s-Wesley’s past givings and expenses, we encourage you to review our historical charts.This is the starting point for our stewardship program.It is important to know where we came from before we look into the future. As you know, we are all working hard to help our church pay for the important programs and services we offer 7 days a week!

Giving Update

Gratitude and Giving forms (stewardship pledge forms) will be available at the back of the church (with Edgar).Please take time to pick up your forms as it reduces our mailing costs.

You can now find the board minutes, trustee minutes and financials in Stawlight.Within the next couple of weeks, you will also find them on the website.If there is something that you want to see but cannot find let Diane Mitchell know.

2005 and 2006 very large gift from one member

2006 morning service average attendance increases from 80 to 200 people

2007 hired a fundraising consultant to work with the stewardship committee

2016 impact of substantial one-time donation

2009 to 2016 core givings have levelled off even though attendance numbers are increasing

*Please forgive us if we have missed something.Let us know any corrections you may have.

It is a proven fact that an over-reliance on outside sources of funding (Trustees and Wesley Place in our instance) can undermine the opportunity and urgency of generous giving.The opportunity to give is a way to express the importance of our faith journey in our lives.

OCTOBER 15TH, 2017

Stewardship Testimonial by David Hayes on one of StAW’s Urban Outreach program, Word is Out

I had been going to an evangelical church since I was in my twenties. But through all those, years I was not able to reconcile my sexuality with God or the church. In 2008 I decided on a grand experiment, explore the gay side of me which I had been suppressing for so many years. It meant I would have to walk away from the church and place God on a shelf. But Gods Grace and compassion never left me.

Last year I began to yearn for something deeper spiritually, beyond the shallow club scene found on Davie street. WiO was that means, as I was able to be my authentic self and meet some genuine and loving people, Kenny, Corwin, Rob to name a few. It was December 2016 I felt I found a place I could belong. Then in February of this year, decided to check out the Candlelight service. A few weeks later, I checked out the morning service at St. Andrews Wesley and even though it was, in my opinion, very traditional, I loved it. Curt had his world-famous choir sing a couple of songs which I remember from my evangelical days. “the Power of Your Love” by Hillsong and another by Don Moen

I nearly broke down as I heard a still small voice say to me

“welcome back, we’ve missed you”

I knew I found my home after years in the wilderness!

Word is Out is an Amazing group of people in spite of all their differing opinions about God, we are all able to love and respect one another, unlike the cookie cutter way of thinking found in other organizations.

I do have to thank my friend Ed for introducing me and for being persistent about it.

David Hayes

Why Should I be Concerned about the Finances of the Church?

There is a belief that the church receives a lot of money from Wesley Place (the residential building attached to the church), so the congregation does not need to worry about the Finances.This is a myth, we are a downtown church and although our building is ornate we are not flush with cash.Let us explain:

People believe that Wesley Place (WP) pays for all the expenses of the church. It does not!

The church holds a $5.7 million mortgage on Wesley Place that pays the church 6% interest annually.This provides the church with $342,000 per year.Yes, Wesley Place has paid more some years but we can not rely on extra amounts being paid on a regular basis.

The Expenses

For our congregation to grow, and we are one of the few congregations that is growing and thriving, we have ministry expenses (worship service; Adult, Children and Youth programs; outreach programs; mission & service etc) $474,276 as of Aug 31, 2017.

Our operating expenses – all expenses not considered ministry – $503,428 as of Aug 31, 2017. A large part of these expenses are building expenses (insurance & maintenance) $109,024. The lease costs $94,443 in 2017 and will increase by $25,000 in 2018.

As you can see Wesley Place does not even cover the ministry expenses if they pay only the interest owed for a single year!This is our reality check.

So how do we balance the budget?That is the question.The board, teams, and staff will be working on this issue in the coming months.We will keep you posted.

Any questions please call Diane Mitchell 604-260-6413 or email executivedirector@standrewswesley.com.Diane is than happy to discuss with you.